Astros’ Postolos resigns as team president and CEO

George Postolos, who helped engineer Jim Crane’s purchase of the Astros and presided over reorganization and rebranding campaigns during a time of declining wins, disappointment among fans over the move to the American League and unrest over limited TV availability of Astros games, resigned Monday as the club’s president and CEO.

Postolos’ departure, which was not anticipated and came as a surprise to executives in the business and baseball sides of the ballclub, was announced in a seven-paragraph release that included a two-sentence statement from Crane, who was not available for further comment.

“We appreciate George’s hard work in the acquisition of the Astros and his commitment to the organization,” Crane said in the team statement. “I’d also like to personally thank him for the assistance that he has provided to me over the last several years and wish him the best of luck in the future.”

Speculation regarding Postolos’ successor turned to former Astros pitcher Nolan Ryan, who lost his title as president of the Texas Rangers during the offseason but remains as CEO. But Ryan told a Dallas radio station “I don’t think so” when asked about the Astros job.

Crane also has reached out to Astros alumni in his efforts to reshape the ballclub, including Craig Biggio, a special assistant to general manager Jeff Luhnow, who assisted in the search that resulted in manager Bo Porter’s hiring and is working on Crane’s plans to explore locating a minor league franchise in The Woodlands.

Biggio coaches the St. Thomas High School baseball team, whose season ended in the TAPPS Class 5A semifinals Monday.

Asked about Postolos’ departure and the search for a replacement, Biggio said, “I’m not in a frame of mind to talk about that now.”

Postolos described his decision as the natural conclusion to his involvement with Crane and the Astros and said he wanted to return to his role in mergers and acquisitions, helping other buyers negotiate the complicated issues of major league franchise acquisition.

“We spent seven years getting this deal done. We got it done,” Postolos said. “We have a good team in place. We have been able to communicate to customers what we are trying to do, and they are hanging in there with us.

“Jeff Luhnow has done a good job improving the farm system. We have a new brand, the company is in a good position, there has been a lot of work involved in getting to that point, and I’m very proud of that.”

Return to consulting

Postolos said he would return to the consulting business he established after his departure as president of the Rockets in 2006. He hopes to work with other prospective franchise owners as he worked with Crane, who tried unsuccessfully to purchase the Cubs and Rangers before acquiring the Astros from Drayton McLane Jr.

“I’m well-qualified to help others do the same,” he said. “It’s not an easy thing. It’s difficult to bring a deal like this together and get a plan in place to operate a business successfully. That is what I do, that is what I enjoy doing, and that is what I am going back to do. The adventure continues.”

In the wake of Crane’s acquisition of the team from McLane, which came with Major League Baseball’s requirement the Astros move to the American League, Postolos presided over a time of large-scale turnover in the team’s front office departments not related to on-field performance. He also oversaw a rebranding and renovation campaign at Minute Maid Park that totaled about $8 million and the introduction of new uniforms.

His tenure also included the departure of television analyst Jim Deshaies to the Chicago Cubs and a brief dispute with former manager Larry Dierker regarding Dierker’s comments about the Crane regime. Also, in the wake of back-to-back seasons with more than 100 losses, the Astros are averaging 19,445 fans in 22 home games, down about 3,000 per game from the same point last year.

Another significant development during Postolos’ time with the ballclub was the movement of Astros games from Fox Sports Houston to Comcast SportsNet Houston, the new regional sports network owned by the Astros, Rockets and NBC Sports Group that was created during the McLane regime but has been a goal of Postolos’ since his days with the Rockets.

But CSN Houston has been unable to negotiate carriage deals with providers such as DirecTV, Dish Network and AT&T U-verse and is available in only about 40 percent of Houston’s 2.2 million TV homes.

At the same time, Postolos, who is a member of the four-member CSN board of directors. has been one of the most outspoken proponents that CSN Houston deserves “fair market rates” for its services and should not settle for less.

Crane is expected to take Postolos’ seat on the CSN Houston board, but it was unclear what effect, if any, that will have on carriage talks.

Meanwhile, Rockets CEO Tad Brown, who worked with Postolos during his time with the Rockets, said: “George is a guy who has done great things for Houston sports. He was at the forefront of the creation of CSN Houston. He’s got a great mind for how to create opportunities in the sports and entertainment world. It will be exciting to see what he does in the next phase of his career.”

Regarding CSN Houston, Brown said, “The Astros through multiple levels have been involved in the entire process, and I don’t see their strategy or CSN’s strategy changing with George’s departure.”

In their release, the Astros noted that Postolos also oversaw changes involving marketing, the Astros in Action Foundation and customer service initiatives with season-ticket holders.

“My job has been to assist Jim in getting his business to this point,” Postolos said. “I’m confident that the work we have done will be judged as a tremendous success when viewed over time.

“We worked on that together, and Jim is pleased with the direction of the enterprise, and I think he knows where he wants to go in the future. I think it’s been a success, and I’m pleased with what I’ve accomplished.”

Timing is right

Of Crane, he said, “I think Jim is going to have great success. He’s going to bring a World Series to Houston, and the Astros are going to be one of the top franchises for a long time. This is a good time to step away.”

He acknowledged the sudden, unexpected timing of the announcement and said, “You need to be all in or not, and so this is something that we made the decision on today, and we’re sharing that news today.

<center><strong>Sept: 29: Yankees 5, Astros 1 (14 innings)</center></strong><br>
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<center><strong>Sept: 29: Yankees 5, Astros 1 (14 innings)</center></strong><br>
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<center><strong>Sept: 28: Yankees 2, Astros 1</center></strong><br>
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<center><strong>Sept: 27: Yankees 3, Astros 2</center></strong><br>
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<center><strong>Sept. 24: Rangers 3, Astros 2</center></strong><br>
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<center><strong>Sept. 21: Indians 4, Astros 1</center></strong><br>
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<strong>Record:</strong> 51-104. less

<center><strong>Sept. 21: Indians 4, Astros 1</center></strong><br>
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<center><strong>Sept. 20: Indians 2, Astros 1 (7)</center></strong><br>
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<center><b>Sept. 15: Angles 2, Astros 1</center></b>
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<center><b>Sept. 11: Astros 6, Mariners 1</center></b>
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<center><b>Sept. 10: Astros 13, Mariners 2</center></b>
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Photo: Ted S. Warren / Associated Press

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<center><b>Sept. 9: Astros 6, Mariners 4</center></b>
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<strong>Record:</strong> 48-96. less

<center><b>Sept. 9: Astros 6, Mariners 4</center></b>
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Photo: Otto Greule Jr / Getty Images

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<center><b>Sept. 8: A's 7, Astros 2</center></b>
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<strong>Record:</strong> 47-96. less

<center><b>Sept. 8: A's 7, Astros 2</center></b>
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Photo: Jason O. Watson / Getty Images

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<center><b>Sept. 7: A's 2, Astros 1</center></b>
Houston came up short in the third game of the series in Oakland.
<strong>Record:</strong> 47-95.

<center><b>Sept. 7: A's 2, Astros 1</center></b>
Houston came up short in the third game of the series in Oakland.
<strong>Record:</strong> 47-95.

Photo: Jeff Chiu / Associated Press

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